West Of Memphis (2012)

West Of Memphis Synopsis

West of Memphis is an examination of a failure of justice in Arkansas. The documentary tells the hitherto unknown story behind an extraordinary and desperate fight to bring the truth to light. Told and made by those who lived it, the filmmakers' unprecedented access to the inner workings of the defense, allows the film to show the investigation, research and appeals process in a way that has never been seen before; revealing shocking and disturbing new information about a case that still haunts the American South.

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Celebrity involvement played a key role in helping create and maintain awareness of the imprisonment of the three men known as the West Memphis Three. Among the musicians who contributed in that regard were Henry Rollins and Eddie Vedder, both of whom are featured in the clip we have to show you from the upcoming documentary West of Memphis.

Youíve probably seen Peter Jacksonís name in headlines a lot recently. His latest film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is by far the biggest release of December and it has already made a bundle at the box office, already scoring over $100 million domestically. But the Hobbit isnít the only film that Jackson has coming out this month.

After making the film festival rounds throughout the year, Amy Berg's documentary West of Memphis will finally arrive in select theaters next month. The new trailer features footage from the trial that led to the conviction of three teenage boys found guilty for the murder of three children. As the trailer puts it, "It took 11 hours to find them guilty. It took 18 years to expose the truth."

The documentary is about the seven year jury taken by investigators looking at the case of the West Memphis Three and trying to figure out if they were actually guilty of murdering three 8-year-old boys back in 1994. After an 18 month stint in prison, Jason Baldwin, Jesse Misskelley Jr., and Damien Echols were freed last August.